text: Discharges from nuclear plants within the nuclear fuel cycle introduce fission products to the environment. The releases from nuclear reprocessing plants tend to be medium to long-lived radioisotopes; this is because the nuclear fuel is allowed to cool for several years before being dissolved in the nitric acid.  The releases from nuclear reactor accidents and bomb detonations will contain a greater amount of the short-lived radioisotopes (when the amounts are expressed in activity Bq)).